S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  7469

                       2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                               May 5, 2011
                               ___________

Introduced  by M. of A. SCHIMEL -- read once and referred to the Commit-
  tee on Election Law

AN ACT to amend the town  law,  in  relation  to  the  types  of  voting
  machines  used  in  certain elections; and providing for the repeal of
  certain provisions upon expiration thereof

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  Section 212 of the town law, as amended by chapter 421 of
the laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows:
  S 212. Annual election and notice thereof. The district  commissioners
of  such  improvement  district  shall  publish  at  the  expense of the
district the notice of each election of improvement district commission-
ers held pursuant to this article. Such notice  shall  be  published  at
least  once  in one or more newspapers having general circulation in the
district and the first publication thereof shall be at least twenty days
before the day of such election. The notice  of  annual  election  shall
specify  the time when and the place or places where such election shall
be held and the hours during which  the  polls  will  be  open  for  the
receipt  of ballots. Notice of such election shall also be posted on the
websites of the district and the town in which the district is  located,
if  such  websites  are  maintained,  on  the signboard of the town, and
conspicuously posted in three or more designated public locations within
the district, on or about the day on which  such  notice  is  published.
Such  election  shall  be  held at a suitable place or places within the
district designated by the district commissioners and  the  polls  shall
remain  open  from  six o'clock in the evening until nine o'clock in the
evening and such additional  consecutive  hours  prior  thereto  as  the
district  commissioners  may determine and specify in the notice of such
election.  The board of commissioners of such district  shall  designate
for each district election not less than two nor more than four resident
taxpayers  to  act  as  election  inspectors  and ballot clerks for each

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD10730-04-1
              

A. 7469                             2

designated polling place. The  board  of  commissioners  shall  fix  the
compensation  of such election inspectors and ballot clerks in an amount
not to exceed ten dollars per hour each for every hour or  part  thereof
of  such  service  and  such  compensation shall be a charge against the
district. The board of commissioners shall  cause  to  be  prepared  the
ballots  for all elections, and may authorize the use of voting machines
[approved by the secretary of state], INCLUDING LEVER  VOTING  MACHINES,
at  any  annual  or  special election of the district. WHEN USING VOTING
MACHINES AS DESCRIBED IN ARTICLE SEVEN OF THE ELECTION LAW, SUCH  VOTING
MACHINES  SHALL  BE  USED in accordance with THE PROVISIONS CONTAINED IN
article nine of the election law. PROVIDED,  HOWEVER,  THAT  NOTHING  IN
THIS  SECTION  SHALL  BE  CONSTRUED TO REQUIRE THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS TO
MAINTAIN THE CARE, CUSTODY OR CONTROL OF LEVER  VOTING  MACHINES.  After
the  polls  shall have been closed at any election, the election inspec-
tors and ballot clerks at each polling place shall  immediately  canvass
the  ballots  cast and shall publicly announce the result of the vote at
that polling place. Within twenty-four hours the chairman of  the  board
of  commissioners,  election  inspectors and ballot clerks shall execute
and file a certificate of the result of the canvass with  the  board  of
commissioners of the improvement district and with the clerk of the town
in which said district is located.
  S  2. Subdivision 29 of section 176 of the town law, as added by chap-
ter 568 of the laws of 1949, is amended to read as follows:
  29. May authorize the use of voting machines, INCLUDING  LEVER  VOTING
MACHINES,  at  any  annual  or  special  election  held  within the fire
district [and]. WHEN USING VOTING MACHINES AS DESCRIBED IN ARTICLE SEVEN
OF THE ELECTION LAW, such voting [machine] MACHINES  shall  be  used  in
accordance with the provisions contained in article nine of the election
law.  PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL BE CONSTRUED
TO REQUIRE THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS  TO  MAINTAIN  THE  CARE,  CUSTODY  OR
CONTROL OF LEVER VOTING MACHINES.
  S  3.  Section  212  of the town law, as amended by chapter 421 of the
laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows:
  S 212. Annual election and notice thereof. The district  commissioners
of  such  improvement  district  shall  publish  at  the  expense of the
district the notice of each election of improvement district commission-
ers held pursuant to this article. Such notice  shall  be  published  at
least  once  in one or more newspapers having general circulation in the
district and the first publication thereof shall be at least twenty days
before the day of such election. The notice  of  annual  election  shall
specify  the time when and the place or places where such election shall
be held and the hours during which  the  polls  will  be  open  for  the
receipt  of ballots. Notice of such election shall also be posted on the
websites of the district and the town in which the district is  located,
if  such  websites  are  maintained,  on  the signboard of the town, and
conspicuously posted in three or more designated public locations within
the district, on or about the day on which  such  notice  is  published.
Such  election  shall  be  held at a suitable place or places within the
district designated by the district commissioners and  the  polls  shall
remain  open  from  six o'clock in the evening until nine o'clock in the
evening and such additional  consecutive  hours  prior  thereto  as  the
district  commissioners  may determine and specify in the notice of such
election.  The board of commissioners of such district  shall  designate
for each district election not less than two nor more than four resident
taxpayers  to  act  as  election  inspectors  and ballot clerks for each
designated polling place. The  board  of  commissioners  shall  fix  the

A. 7469                             3

compensation  of such election inspectors and ballot clerks in an amount
not to exceed ten dollars per hour each for every hour or  part  thereof
of  such  service  and  such  compensation shall be a charge against the
district.  The  board  of  commissioners  shall cause to be prepared the
ballots for all elections, and may authorize the use of voting  machines
[approved  by  the secretary of state] at any annual or special election
of the district in accordance with article nine  of  the  election  law.
After  the  polls  shall  have been closed at any election, the election
inspectors and ballot clerks at each  polling  place  shall  immediately
canvass  the  ballots cast and shall publicly announce the result of the
vote at that polling place. Within twenty-four hours the chairman of the
board of commissioners, election  inspectors  and  ballot  clerks  shall
execute  and  file  a  certificate of the result of the canvass with the
board of commissioners of the improvement district and with the clerk of
the town in which said district is located.
  S 4. Subdivisions 12 and 13 of section 213-b of the town law, as added
by chapter 400 of the laws of 1985, are amended to read as follows:
  12. If the inspectors of election shall have received an envelope, and
upon opening the same no ballot shall be found therein,  the  inspectors
shall  make  a  memorandum  showing that the ballot is missing. When the
casting of absentee voters'  ballots  shall  have  been  completed,  the
inspectors  shall  ascertain  the number of such ballots which have been
deposited in the ballot box by deducting from the  number  of  envelopes
opened  the  number of missing ballots, and shall make a separate return
thereof in duplicate. The number of absentee voters'  ballots  deposited
in the ballot box shall be added to the number of other ballots deposit-
ed  in the ballot box in order to determine the number of all ballots to
be accounted for in the ballot box. Such ballots shall then  be  counted
or  canvassed by the inspectors of election along with the other ballots
cast at such district election, or, where voting machines are  used,  AS
PROVIDED  IN  SECTION TWO HUNDRED TWELVE OF THIS ARTICLE, shall be added
to the votes recorded on such machines.
  13. The provisions of this section shall apply to absentee ballots  at
improvement  district  elections, notwithstanding any other provision of
law. The provisions of any other  law  as  they  relate  to  improvement
district  elections not inconsistent herewith shall apply to the conduct
of such elections. PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL
BE CONSTRUED TO REQUIRE THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS  TO  MAINTAIN  THE  CARE,
CUSTODY OR CONTROL OF LEVER VOTING MACHINES.
  S  5.    Subdivisions  4  and  12 of section 175-b of the town law, as
amended by chapter 401 of the laws of  1996,  are  amended  to  read  as
follows:
  4.  Ballots for absentee voters shall be, as nearly as practicable, in
the same form as those to be voted at the district election; if the vote
at  such  election shall be by ballot, the absentee ballot shall conform
to that part of the regular ballot which  relates  to  the  election  of
district  members;  if  the  vote  of  such  election shall be by voting
machine, PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION  TWENTY-NINE  OF  SECTION  ONE  HUNDRED
SEVENTY-SIX  OF  THIS  ARTICLE,  the  absentee  ballot shall [conform as
closely as possible to the manner in which the names of  the  candidates
appear  on  the  voting  machines, except that the absentee ballot shall
also contain a space for a write-in or write-ins] BE, AS NEARLY  PRACTI-
CABLE, IN THE SAME FORM AS THOSE TO BE VOTED IN THE DISTRICT ON ELECTION
DAY  AND SHALL CONTAIN A SPACE FOR A WRITE-IN OR WRITE-INS.  On the back
of such absentee ballots shall be printed the  words  "Official  Ballot,
Absentee Voter," followed by the words "For Officers of fire district."

A. 7469                             4

  12.  If  the  election inspectors shall have received an envelope, and
upon opening the same no ballot shall be  found  therein,  the  election
inspectors  shall  make a memorandum showing that the ballot is missing.
When the casting of absentee voters' ballots shall have been  completed,
the election inspectors shall ascertain the number of such ballots which
have  been  deposited  in the ballot box by deducting from the number of
envelopes opened the number of missing ballots, and shall make  a  sepa-
rate return thereof in duplicate. The number of absentee voters' ballots
deposited  in  the  ballot  box  shall  be  added to the number of other
ballots deposited in the ballot box in order to determine the number  of
all  ballots  to  be accounted for in the ballot box. Such ballots shall
then be counted or canvassed by the election inspectors along  with  the
other  ballots cast at such district election, or, where voting machines
are used[,] PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION TWENTY-NINE OF SECTION  ONE  HUNDRED
SEVENTY-SIX  OF  THIS  ARTICLE, SUCH BALLOTS shall be added to the votes
recorded on such machines.
  S 6. Subdivision 4 of section 175-b of the town  law,  as  amended  by
chapter 401 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read as follows:
  4.  Ballots for absentee voters shall be, as nearly as practicable, in
the same form as those to be voted at the district election; if the vote
at  such  election shall be by ballot, the absentee ballot shall conform
to that part of the regular ballot which  relates  to  the  election  of
district  members;  if  the  vote  of  such  election shall be by voting
machine, the absentee ballot shall [conform as closely  as  possible  to
the  manner  in  which  the names of the candidates appear on the voting
machines, except that the absentee ballot shall also contain a space for
a write-in or write-ins] BE, AS NEARLY PRACTICABLE, IN THE SAME FORM  AS
THOSE  TO  BE  VOTED IN THE DISTRICT ON ELECTION DAY AND SHALL CONTAIN A
SPACE FOR A WRITE-IN OR WRITE-INS.  On the back of such absentee ballots
shall be printed the words "Official Ballot, Absentee  Voter,"  followed
by the words "For Officers of fire district."
  S  7.  This  act shall take effect immediately provided, however, that
sections one, two, four and five of this act shall expire and be  deemed
repealed  December  31,  2012,  when  upon  such  date the provisions of
sections three and six of this act shall take effect.